Breeds south-eastern Australia (north-eastern New South Wales southern along coast to southern Victoria and extreme south-eastern South Australia) and Tasmania. Non-breeding northern and eastern New Guinea (including D'Entrecasteaux Is and Louisiades), Bismarck Archipelago and, very sparsely, coastal eastern Australia (south to about Brisbane area).
Voice
A guttural 'zhurp' or 'bzzurt', repeated often. A strident, clear, carrying 'wu-chee-wu-chee-wu-chee' or 'chellee chellee chellee'. Also a clear, high-pitched 'weir-to-weir-to-weir' or a liquid 'thurp, pew-it, pew-it'.
Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of strips of bark bound with cobweb, usually lined with slender rootlets, built on a horizontal dead branch, sometimes one situated beneath a living limb, at a considerable height.
Eggs (Guide)
3; white to pale bluish green, spotted and freckled with grey-browns and underlying purple-grey, in a zone towards the larger end; oval; about 20 x 16 mm. Incubation: about 17 days; by both sexes.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 18 days.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Male with male and female with female Leaden Flycatcher (Myiagra rubecula) which has lighter upperparts.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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